


do this thing

by thatwasanticlimactic



Series: love will do what it does (winter femslash week 2021) [6]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: ATLA Winter Femslash Week 2021, Anniversary, Asami Sato Deserves The World, Bisexual Asami Sato, Bisexual Korra (Avatar), Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Korra is A Great Girlfriend Thank You and Goodnight, No Angst, One Year Anniversary Date, Picnics, Post-Canon, Soft Korra (Avatar), The Moon - Freeform, Varrick and Zhu Li have a healthy relationship in this tho i promise, Varrick tries, background varrick/zhu li- Freeform, like seriously y'all i wrote something with no angst be proud of me, zhu li does the thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 00:33:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29251515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwasanticlimactic/pseuds/thatwasanticlimactic
Summary: Korra just wants to set up the perfect one year anniversary date for Asami, but she's sick of her dates always ending in flames (literally), so she enlists some help from friends... who refer her to another friend.Enter Varrick (and Zhu Li) who claims he can create the perfect date.Trusting Varrick might to be a terrible idea, but Korra's willing to risk it for Asami's happiness.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: love will do what it does (winter femslash week 2021) [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137812
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41
Collections: Winter ATLA Femslash Week 2021





	do this thing

**Author's Note:**

> day six of femslash week: the moon!
> 
> look... i was with Grace and this started as a joke because Varrick is my favorite LoK character (don't judge me, the scene when he actually made a bomb KILLED ME) and i just... i wanted to include them and then Grace reminded me that Zhu Li's last name was moon and i HAD to. so, thank you, Grace for inspiring this
> 
> title from the mean girls song "do this thing" and also from Varrick and Zhu Li
> 
> ft. obligatory zukka mention

Korra hesitated at the door in front of her, wondering if having the perfect one year anniversary date with Asami was worth the trouble behind said door (and this was Asami, her beautiful girlfriend who always planned the best, most fun, and most special dates, so  _ of course  _ it was worth it). She sighed, then knocked.

It was open within seconds and with such force that Korra instinctively shifted into a defense position.

There was no threat, though. Just Varrick leaning against the door frame with a smug grin on his face. “Korra, hello! What can I do for you?”

“Okay, you opened that suspiciously fast,” said Korra, narrowing her eyes but entering his office once he stepped aside. “Did you know I was coming?”

Varrick fluttered his lips. “Nah, I’ve just got great instincts.” In the blink of an eye, he was sitting behind his desk, elbows resting on the surface. “Zhu Li.” He snapped and Zhu Li ran from the corner of the room to pull a chair out for Korra.

“Uh, thank you?” she said, feeling slightly uncomfortable as Varrick’s assistant and wife pushed the chair in for her once she was sitting. She immediately rushed to stand behind her husband.

“So, kid, what can I do for you?” asked Varrick, leaning forward inquisitively.

Korra cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah. So, Asami and my one year anniversary is next week,” she began, “and I wanted to do something nice for her but romance is not… well, it’s not my strong suit. Last time I tried to plan something romantic, well, it didn’t go too well.” She scratched the back of her neck, chuckling wearily.

(okay, maybe using her bending to speed up the process of making desserts wasn’t the best or cleanest idea ever. It wasn’t entirely her fault that Asami got so much flour and dough in her hair that she had to spend the rest of the night getting it out for work the next day)

“Ah, so you’re looking for help from the most romantic person you know?” Varrick wiggled his eyebrows.

“Yeah, don’t flatter yourself,” Korra replied, shutting him down immediately. “I actually went to Mako first, but he’s useless in the romantic department— I don’t know why I thought to ask him, honestly. Then I went to Tenzin but he’s just as useless— I have no idea how he managed to get Pema to marry him. You’d think Kya and Lin would have great advice seeing they’re dating, but their ideas were just meh. I found out that Zuko is terrible at describing his dates with Sokka— something to do with libraries and turtle-ducks? I don’t know,” she listed, counting off on her fingers.

“So what you’re saying is, you realized the best option was me?”

Korra rolled her eyes. “I literally went to Kai and Jinora before you. The only reason I’m here is because Bolin thinks you’re actually helpful and everyone else had terrible ideas.”

Varrick shrugged. “Eh, I’ve heard worse. So, you need ideas for an anniversary date with Asami?”

“Yeah. At this point, just give me any idea you’ve got; I’m desperate.” In hindsight, that probably wasn’t the smartest thing to say to Varrick due to his insanely overactive imagination and terrible tendency for stupid plans, but Korra was willing to listen to anything right now, if only with hopes that something in between the lines will inspire her.

“Well, you came to the right place!” exclaimed Varrick, rubbing his hands together. “Zhu Li and I have had the most romantic dates. And while I may be the mastermind behind most of them, her surprise dates have made me swoon!”

Yeah, that wasn’t surprising. Korra was willing to bet that most of their successful dates were due to Zhu Li, who appeared to be attempting to conceal a blush at the moment.

“Zhu Li, if you have any ideas too, I would love to hear them,” Korra added, nodding at the woman standing behind Varrick. “I want this to be perfect, you know?”

“Mhm, mhm,” hummed Varrick, staring at her quizzically. “See, I know Asami pretty well. I think we can help you come up with something special.”

Zhu Li smiled, looking down at Varrick fondly. It was a cute sight, one Korra still didn’t entirely understand (because Zhu Li was  _ way  _ too good for Varrick, but if they made each other happy, who was she to judge? Asami was too good for her, anyways). “What day is your anniversary?” she asked.

“Next Wednesday,” she answered, resting her chin in one hand. “Exactly five days from now.”

“Oof, you were really putting it off then, huh?” chortled Varrick.

She glared at him. “For your information, I was  _ trying  _ to think of an idea myself first. Romance isn’t my thing, okay? I would love to take Asami to the gym as a date, but we do that together anyways. Nothing special about that,” Korra huffed.

“The gym? Ew, definitely not a good place for dates. Amiright, Zhu Li?”

She made a so-so gesture in response.

“So, what do you guys do for dates?”

“Well, it depends,” Varricked started. “Sometimes we don’t plan anything and be spontaneous, just see what happens. Those are my favorites!”

“We also go on picnics,” added Zhu Li. “Sometimes, when we’re working late, one of us will run and pick up food and we’ll just have a picnic in the office. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you do it with love.”

Korra perked up. “Ooh, a picnic! Asami might like that! She works really hard, you know? I think she’d like a nice peaceful dinner at the park or something.”

Asami had seemed stressed lately, and rightfully so. A lot of the employees at Future Industries were lazy idiots (although Asami did not phrase it like that) who really gave her a run for her money.

(and, okay. Maybe crashing a day of work last week and threatening the employees without asking Asami first wasn’t the  _ best _ idea, but they weren’t doing their jobs and her girlfriend was stressed! She was just going to try and scare them a little! She didn’t think her yelling at them would make ten people quit. In her defense, though, it was Meelo’s fault for encouraging her. So, yeah. She also had a lot of late nights working to make up for)

Varrick scoffed. “No, you fool! Don’t have a picnic in the park! That’s so dull. What you gotta do is have the picnic on the roof.”

“The roof?” she deadpanned.

“The. Roof,” emphasized Varrick. “She’ll love it. Oh! And do it at night too, when she’s done with work so she doesn’t have to worry about leaving early.”

Korra blinked. “That’s… actually a good idea, Varrick.”

“Don’t act so surprised, I’m full of good ideas!” he exclaimed. He raised his arms in the air and drew an air circle with his palm. “Picture this: Asami comes home from work, she’s exhausted— maybe she thought her girlfriend forgot about the anniversary— she’s ready to give up and go to bed when suddenly—” and at that Varrick slammed his hands on the desk. “— in flies her Avatar girlfriend! And you swoop her in your arms and you fly to the roof where a gourmet feast is laid out before her! The stars are bright, the moon is out, you have a thousand candles lined up along the roof…”

It was a good idea, though with a ridiculous execution, but at least Zhu Li looked just as confused as she felt.

“Okay, so first: I can’t fly,” Korra stated. “Second: I can’t cook, so a gourmet meal is definitely out of the question. I’m going to have to buy food from somewhere.”

“No!” cried Varrick, thrusting his body forward and grabbing the collar of her shirt. “Buying food will kill the mood! This isn’t just a date, it’s your anniversary! You can’t just  _ buy _ food!”

“Well then, what am I supposed to do?” she retorted, slapping his hands away. “I don’t suppose  _ you’ll  _ make it for me.”

Varrick opened his mouth to respond but his wife cut him off. “No, he won’t be able to do it. He’s a terrible cook too. I’m a pretty good cook, though, and I would be more than happy to make you something,” Zhu Li said.

“Ugh! Zhu Li is the best chef around, you have  _ got  _ to let her cook for you!” sighed Varrick, making his wife’s cheeks flush a soft pink once more.

Korra nodded. “Alright, that takes care of that, I guess. And I could probably decorate while she’s working—”

“No! Let us do it!” interrupted Varrick. “We’ll make it the most romantic rooftop you’ve ever seen, I can promise you that!”

She narrowed her eyes. “See, I trust that Zhu Li has good ideas, but I’m kind of scared of what you might do,” she said, gesturing towards him. “Your ideas of romance tend to be… very unrealistic.”

“Exactly! See, Zhu Li, she gets it.”

She resisted the urge to facepalm; he  _ was  _ helping her after all. “Okay, well. If you guys are sure…” She received one enthusiastic nod and one reassuring smile. “Well, okay then. What time do you think you can have it ready by?”

The couple shared a look and did one of those really annoying communicating through facial expressions things that couples did (okay, so maybe it’s really cute, but it’s also  _ Varrick _ so she’s legally obligated to think it’s gross). “10pm,” Zhu Li said once their eyebrows were lowered and their eyes were back to their normal size.

“Alright. Thank you guys, seriously,” Korra told them, scooting her chair back and standing up. “If there’s anything I can do for you guys in return, just let me know.”

Zhu Li hurried around the side of the desk to walk her to the door. “Oh, Korra. It’s no problem. It’s your anniversary, just spend the day relaxing. We’re happy to help!” She held the door open for her.

“The roof of your apartment will be ready for you at 10pm sharp!” called Varrick as she left. “Don’t worry about a thing! We’ve got this!”

Yeah, Korra wasn’t entirely sure he did, but he did have Zhu Li to tame his ideas, so that made her hopeful. Besides, they actually had good ideas compared to everyone else she asked. It can’t go that wrong.

* * *

“Asami!” she cried, immediately running as soon as she heard the door to their apartment open. Her girlfriend laughed as she picked her up and twirled her around. “How was work, babe?”

“It’s good to see you too, hun,” Asami giggled, giving Korra a peck on the cheek when she put her down. “It could’ve been a lot worse. But tonight’s our anniversary; I don’t want to talk about work.”

“I don't blame you,” said Korra, wincing slightly. “I have a surprise for you! You haven’t had like, a  _ good  _ dinner yet, right?”

Asami’s eyes widened with curiosity. “I have not. I did have a quick bite to eat around 8pm, but I’m still hungry. What do you have in mind?”

Korra just stared. “It’s a surprise,” she replied, just now realizing that maybe she should have told her anniversary planners what kind of food Asami likes, rather than assuming they’d figure it out (she silently thanked the Spirits that it was Zhu Li cooking and not Varrick, though).

She grabbed Asami’s hand and began leading her out of their apartment and to the end of the hallway where the stairwell was located. “It’s on the roof,” she explained at Asami’s questioning look.

Thankfully, their anniversary was in the summer, so once they opened the door to the roof, they were met with a nice cool breeze rather than chilly night air (which Korra probably would have been fine in, but Asami greatly prefers heat to the cold).

They turned the corner and… Korra was pleasantly surprised.

The roof was decorated with candles; they lined the edges and hung from the shed (one of the residents started a garden so they built a shed for their tools). A large red blanket was draped across the center of the floor. There were a couple of plates and two sets of eating utensils set off to the side. In the middle of the blanket was a silver tray with a cover on it (and Korra thought it smelled a bit like roasted duck) with some smaller sides next to it of what looked like sea prunes, fruits, and tiger-seal jerky.

Korra heard Asami’s intake of breath and it took everything in her power not to do the same. It was actually really beautiful.

“Korra,” her girlfriend breathed, “this is so sweet of you. Thank you so much, hun. This is… incredible.”

Mentally, Korra was fist pumping because  _ she finally pulled off a perfect date! _ On the outside, she was grinning widely, bringing Asami’s hand to her mouth and pressing a kiss on her palm. “Only the best for you, babe,” she said.

She led Asami to the blanket and they sat down next to each other. Before the nonbender could grab anything, Korra snatched a couple of plates. “Here, let me take care of you for once, okay?” she gently told her. “You’ve been working so hard lately. What do you want?” She took the lid off of the tray and she was right— roasted duck.

“I’ll have a little bit of everything,” Asami replied, smiling gratefully as she made herself comfortable.

Korra raised a brow as she began to cut a piece of duck. “Even the sea prunes and the tiger-seal jerky?”

Asami rolled her eyes. “As long as you didn’t make it, I would love to try it. If you remember correctly, the first time I tried sea prunes they were inedible,” she laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry— I didn’t make these,” she assured as she piled Asami’s plate with food. “I think you’ll like them this time, they we—”

“Are you kidding? She’s going to  _ love _ them! Zhu Li makes the best sea prunes!”

Korra dropped the plate, spinning around with fists raised. It took her a second to process, but she soon recognized the voice. “Varrick?” she screeched. “Why are you here and… and where  _ are _ you?”

The sound of someone shuffling could be heard and that was the only warning the girls got before Varrick stepped out of the shadows wearing what looked like a moon costume.

Asami was covering her mouth with her hand, but it didn’t do much to silence her laughter.

Korra probably would have done the same if she wasn’t taken completely off-guard. She pushed herself to her feet and marched over to the Water Tribesman, shoving a finger in his face. “What are you doing here?’ she hissed. “ I thought you were going to set up and then leave!”

“See, that’s what we were  _ going  _ to do,” started Varrick, an exasperated look on his face as if  _ she _ were the one to drop in uninvited on his date, “but did you know that it’s only a crescent moon tonight? Look at it! It’s so small you can barely see it!” He awkwardly pulled an arm out of his costume and pointed at the sky.

“What does that have to do with anything?” she cried because  _ of course _ Varrick wouldn’t just leave after setting the picnic up. No, no, he had to stay and crash it! What else should she have expected?

Varrick sighed. “It was supposed to be a full moon tonight! The moon is the most romantic part of nature, everyone knows that!”

“Okay, then you could have painted a picture or something! Why are you dressed like this?”

“Because, I  _ am _ the moon!” Varrick pulled his other arm out of the costume and made a little “ta-da” gesture.

Korra was thoroughly unimpressed. “No, Varrick. No, you are not the moon. The Moon spirit is a lovely lady and also you look stupid.”

Varrick shook his head incessantly. “No, I  _ am _ the moon! I took Zhu Li’s last name after we got married, right Zhu Li?”

This time she actually did facepalm and moved her hands to her hips. “Zhu Li is here too?”

Varrick shuffled his feet, turning around in the moon costume so she could see the back. Yup, sure enough, Zhu Li was the other part of the moon, a slightly apologetic look on her face. “Hi.”

“Are you being held hostage?” asked Korra (partially genuinely because who would want to be stuck in a moon costume with Varrick for any amount of time?). “Do you need me to throw him off the roof?”

Zhu Li bit her lip to stifle her laughter at Varrick’s indignant squawk. “I told you this was a bad idea, Varrick,” she said.

“Pfft, it’s a  _ great _ idea! We’re setting the mood!”

For a second, Korra felt like she might combust. Or maybe she  _ would _ push Varrick off the roof. She wasn’t sure. All she knew is that this had the potential to be a great date, but Varrick had to ruin it.

She pointed at the door. “Leave. Now.”

“Geez, I can take a hint,” scoffed Varrick, huffing. “We were just trying to help.”

“No, you really can’t,” Korra muttered, turning her back on the couple and sitting down besides Asami once more.

She felt a gentle hand on her arm. “Hey, are you okay?”

“I just— I wanted to give you the perfect date,” she admitted, chuckling wearily. “Your dates are always so nice and thoughtful and mine are always disasters that burst into flames. Literally. I just wanted to do something just as amazing for you as you always do for me. Not to mention I’ve made your job a living nightmare for the next couple weeks until you can hire more people, so I wanted to help you relax. I knew I shouldn’t have listened to Bolin. ‘Go to Varrick’, he said. ‘Varrick has great at date ideas’, he said.” She snorted, throwing her head in her hands. “Obviously.”

“Hey, look at me.”

Korra slowly lifted her head to face her girlfriend. Asami’s eyes were so kind, just like they always were. Looking into them never failed to make her calm down a bit. She tucked a strand of hair behind Korra’s ear, smiling warmly.

“Korra, I don’t care what we do as long as I’m with you,” she said. “That’s what matters most to me. I’ve enjoyed every date you’ve planned; even the ones when I had to spend a couple hours washing my hair.”

She sniffed. “I guess that was pretty fun.”

Asami nodded fiercely. “Yes! It was fun because we were doing it together! I didn’t care that my hair got dirty because I got to hear you laugh. I’d choose that over a perfect date any day.”

“But— this is our anniversary,” remarked Korra. “This was supposed to be a calm night after work because I know how stressed you’ve been and it was all my fault too.”

“Running in and scaring some employees away might not have been the most brilliant move,” agreed Asami, “but you did it to make my job easier. Besides, I would rather do their work after they’ve quit than because they slacked off all the time. Sure, they quit, but now I can replace them with people who I know will get their jobs done.”

What did she do to deserve this woman? This wonderful, beautiful, kind, perfect woman?

“You know,” she continued, wrapping an arm around her waist, “I struggled to come up with some of the dates you’ve enjoyed.”

“Really?” asked Korra, eye bulging. “But they’re so great and—”

“Yeah, because I spent hours agonizing over what to do,” said Asami, blushing. “I used to ask Mako for ideas but I think he got tired of me always bugging him about it. Dates aren’t a competition; they’re an expression of love. You’re the most passionate and devoted person I have ever met. Even if our dates turn out… strange, I still have a good time because I’m with you and because you put so much effort into them.”

“Huh,” murmured Korra. “Maybe I did kind of think dates were competitions.”

“Well, they aren’t,” replied Asami, shaking her head, “but if they were, I think you might’ve won. I can't believe you actively chose to involve Varrick.”

“It was a mental struggle.”

“Hey! I can still hear you, ya know!” cried Varrick.

Both girls shared a look, pursing their lips. “Why are you still here?” Korra called at the same time Asami said “Thanks for your help, but you can leave now!”

They heard him mutter something about ‘ungrateful kids’, which was admittedly funny, along with a few grunts as his excessive costume kept running into things.

“So, you’re okay with the fact that Varrick invited himself to our date?” asked Korra.

Asami’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t say ‘okay with’ since I’d rather he not be here, but every time you plan a date, it always has something unexpected to look forward to. Now, I’m starving, you want to eat?”

“I am too,” agreed Korra. “Here, I’ll finish that plate for you.”

Despite the fact that they talked about resuming their picnic, they were both leaning in, Korra wrapping an arm around Asami’s neck and pulling her just a bit closer to speed up the process. Korra wanted nothing more than to give her girlfriend— the best girlfriend in the entire world— the biggest kiss she could. And she was just about to when—

“Korra, do the thing!” Varrick whisper-screamed, breaking through the silence of the night.

Korra turned her head despite Asami’s protests. “What thing!?” she yelled, irritated that he interrupted their moment.

“The thing! Kiss her, you hog-monkey!” he groaned as if that were obvious.

“That’s what I was about to do you—”

Before she could get ahead of herself, Asami shoved her lips onto hers.

“Happy anniversary, hun.”

“Happy anniversary, babe. I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!
> 
> Asami says hun and Korra says babe. as someone who says both platonically, i feel strongly about this haha
> 
> i can't believe there was like ??? no angst ??? and i only mentioned Sokka once ???
> 
> my tumblr is that-was-anticlimactic if anyone ever wants to talk Varrick being amazing, how the Varrick / Zhu Li ship deserved better, or what pet names the Krew would use:)


End file.
